Walloon Brabant, attractive for pharma and high-tech

Walloon Brabant is … one of the five provinces of Wallonia regrouping 27 municipalities. The capital city is the city of Wavre.

Walloon Brabant is … ideally located at the heart of Europe

Walloon Brabant is adjacent to Brussels, the capital of Belgium and of Europe. It is also located near the Flemish Region.

The University’s presence directly contributes to the development of the business and scientific parks.

Walloon Brabant is … a dynamic workplace

With 147,235 workers (of which 20 % are self-employed), more than 10,000 firms, a science park related to a world-known university and 7 business parks, Walloon Brabant is a big economic hub. The pharmaceutical industry is the growth engine of the region.

Walloon Brabant is also specialized in the high-tech industry. With 22 % of the working population being qualified as scientist, it ranks second best in Europe. The province attracts Belgian and foreign investors by its dynamism, innovation and quality.

Walloon Brabant is … a great place to live

Only a quarter of Walloon Brabant’s land has been built or is meant to be built. There are two natural reserves and three provincial parks. Walloon Brabant is a place where cultural life and leisure play an important role, with plenty of sports facilities and 12 cultural centers.

Walloon Brabant is … a region full of history

As – in 1815 – the Battle of Waterloo paved the way to Europe and Belgium’s independence.

Walloon Brabant is … a tourist destination

Walloon Brabant is the perfect place to enjoy recreational and family activities. Its must-see places, its local folklore or its outdoor range of activities delight young and old.

It also offers high-quality accommodations, delicious local products and skilled producers, restaurants as well as charming, unusual and various nature trail circuits. Moreover, Walloon Brabant is a choice destination for business tourism, particularly because of its accessibility and infrastructures.

Walloon Brabant is … a place for quality education

When it comes to education, Walloon Brabant offers a lot of possibilities thanks to its numerous schools, a.o. the well-renowned Université Catholique de Louvain (UCL). The University’s presence directly contributes to the development of the business and scientific parks (the LLN Science Park in particular) by attracting lots of leading enterprises.

The University’s roots are founded in 1425, making it the first university in Belgium and the Low Countries.

The UCL is:

A vast potential of 28,700 students (provisional figures from 2012-2013) of 127 nationalities, to be recruited through the UCL employment services which are specialized both by discipline and by vocational qualification in order to take graduates’ aspirations and potential employers’ expectations into account. They are organized as a network in order to meet the demand rapidly.

3,600 researchers, 2,000 doctoral candidates, half of whom come from abroad, around 1,000 research agreements signed per year: research is one of the engines of the UCL, led in close association with the enterprises, the public sector and the international bodies.

225 firms in the scientific park. Moreover, firms and the university really collaborate with each other when conducting their research. A number of financing schemes exist to support projects carried out jointly by a company and one or several UCL research groups. The Research Department’s mission is to promote and facilitate scientific or technological partnerships between UCL and businesses. The China-Belgium Technology Center (CBTC) will be opening very soon. By that means, the region of Louvain-la-Neuve and the UCL will become the Intelligence Valley for Chinese firms.

The quality of the economic fabric, the training quality and the high living standards make Walloon Brabant the “place to be” in Wallonia, located on Brussels’ doorstep and at the heart of Europe!

In this favorable context, the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Walloon Brabant puts a lot of emphasis on internationalization and encourages firms to develop their international contacts by organizing meetings with all kinds of international players (e.g. major events called “International Network Lunches” for exporters and any business wanting to invest abroad, putting the spotlight on a country and welcoming its key economic and diplomatic actors allowing firms of its region to develop internationally).

Dominique Verleye has a master in Germanic philology of the Université Catholique de Louvain. She is open-minded, multilingual, diplomatic, and passionate about the global development of companies.
She has been involved in import & export activities of companies for 36 years, first as export manager in SMEs, later as Foreign Expert at AWEX (Agence wallonne à l’exportation). Since 2009, she now works as International Relations Manager at the Chamber of Commerce & Industry of Walloon Brabant (CCIBW). She is always very excited to work out new ideas to enhance the international activities of local companies, for example by organizing international training and workshops, import & export clubs where companies share experiences, international networking and matchmaking events, trade missions and by giving tailor-made advice on export and customs formalities. Dominique enjoys the simple things of live and is keen on seizing the day. She is also a travel-addict, but is always happy to come back to her beautiful home province: Walloon Brabant.